Elevator-door-operating mechanism



'Feb. 4,-1930. w. B. CROWELL ELEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FiledAug. 8, 1923 2 Sheot srShgptv 1 w a a a M .1%. 4 4 T 5 U 54 2 i 3 m m.%T 3 H H I ll noamx 41930. I w. B. CROWELL ,3 u

ELEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 8, 1923 2 Shee ts Sheet 2BY v I ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 4, 193,0" I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEI IWILLIAM B. CROWELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. I

ELEVATOR-DOOR-OEERATING MECHANISM Application filed August 8, 1923.Serial No. 656,312.

{The present invention relates to improveferred to, will be sufficientlylubricated by ments in a power operated elevator door opoil to keep itsoft and pliable, but which at erating mechanism of the form having cushthe same time will serve to prevent loss of oil ioning means operatingin a liquid. from the plunger cylinder or passageof oilInmechanisms'of'the form disclosed in my into the piston cylinder abovethe piston,

application. Serial No. 638,072, a. leather whereby the operation of thedevice will be washer is employed on the operating piston improved andwhereby frequent refilling of which requires'mor'e or less frequentlubricathe apparatus with oil will be avoided.

tion with oil in order to prevent drying and 7 Another object of theinvention is to pro- 10 loss of absorbed oil which serves to render thevide means in such a mechanism for ,preventleather. soft and pliable. Ithas been found ing splashing of oil from the plunger cylinwith. thisform of device that when pressure der to the piston cylinder and toretain the oil fluid is admitted for. the upstroke of the pisin theplunger cylinder. without interfering ton, corresponding to the opening.movement with the cushioning action of the device.

ofan elevator-door, oil from the plunger cyl- Another object of theinvention is to proinder or'oil reservoir is sprayed more or less videmeans whereby the piston and leather into. the operating cylinder, whichhas the washer or cup may be easily removed from effect of keeping theleather of the piston the cylinder without dismounting other partswasher: soft and pliable, and of lubricating of the apparatus. Y

0 the cylinder walls. The amount of oil which Another object of theinvention is to pro- 25 ingin thepassage of'some of the oil above thehand elevator door operation.

passes to the piston cylinder through entrainvide means whereby pressurefluid may be ing or carrying of oil by the pressure fluid admittedalternatively on one side or the has been found, however, to beexcessive with other of the apparatus, whereby the appafrequentoperations of theapparatus, resultratus may be mounted for either leftor right piston- .The loss of-oil. from the cushioning A further objectof the invention is to so cylinder inthissmanner results in knockingposition the regulating means, whereby the or slamming at the end of thedoor opening cushioning action is controlled, so that they stroke, orthe upstroke, of the plunger, due to may be accessible in mountedposition.

' -5 not having sufficient oil in the plungercylin- A" further object ofthe invention is to proder and reservoir to give a liquid check at thevidea method of lubrication whereby the cyltop of the plunger cylinder.It has also been inder walls of the device may be lubricated found inconnection with this apparatus that by means of an oil spray and wherebythe cup the oil passingv into the piston cylinder gradwasher may besupplied with a sufiicient 'uallyleaksoutof the apparatus by one meansquantity of oil in the operation of the deor another, and 'it isnecesasry therefore to vice to maintain the leather soft and pliable.frequently replenish the oil in the system. lVith these and otherobjects in view, the e The present invention is designed tooverinvention comprises the featureshereinafter comethe difiicultiesabove enumerated by described and more particularly defined in 4bpreventing passage of oil in appreciable the claims.

. amounts fronr'the plunger cylinder to the One feature of theinventi'on involving the lpiston:cylinder-above the piston,but-permituse of adiaphragm is based upon the discovtingsuflicient oilto pass from the plunger ery that a perforated diaphragm having a Icylin'derinto' the piston cylinder to lubricate certain critical areaopening may be emit the cylinder walls and to keep the leather ployed inthe apparatus below the point of washer attached to the piston soft,thus admission of'pressure fluid thereto, whereby I greatlyincreasingthe life of the washer. lubrication of the leather washer willbe at- I One 'of the objects of the present inventained and the mainbody of oil will be retionis'to provide means whereby the leather'tained in the plunger cylinder so that under 5o washer in a mechanismof the kind above renormal operating conditions the filling operation isrequired only once for at least five hundred thousand operations of themechanism. The care and attention required in the operation of a deviceembodying the present improvement is therefore incomparably less thanwith the device of the invention described in the above-"referred-toapplication.

The various features of the invention will be described in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in Which- Fig, 1 is a vertical sectionof an elevator door operating mechanism embodying the the inventiontaken on the line 1-1 of F igure 2;

Fig. 2 is an exterior profile view of the operating-device shown insection in Fig. 1-;

Fig. 3isaseetional view taken on the line 3 -3-of Fig. 1:; V g. is a p1an view of la fora-initiated diaphr -agni or partition having-perforations therein;

Fig. ,5 is .a-section through the iline 15+5 of Fig. 4';

"Fig. '6 is a plan view ofaunodi'fied form of partition or diaphragm;:and

Fig. '7 is a detail sectional View through the line of Fig. 6. i I

Referring to the drawings, the device coniprises a cylinder 1:0 in whichis a piston 12 to whicha lea-therwasher or leather cup 13 is attached,"the washer being :held in place by means :of a cup expander 11 and afollower or metal ring 117 attached to the piston by suitable means suchas set screws, for example, as shown in :the drawing, "Cushioning means14 .adaptedrto operate with a liquid in the manner to be furtherdescribed, are provided to check orcushionthe :moyementsof piston 12:and the parts attached thereto. The cushioning .dev-ice l icomprises acylinder 38 to which an external casing "15 is .attached-so as toprovide a reservoir or space 56 between the walls thereof; The upperportion of the casing '15is preferably internallyscrewthreaded at 16soas to :permitengagement with a corresponding externally screwithreadedportion 18 on thecylinder casing :10, whereby the cylinders may :be:faste'necl together. In .order to prevent leakage of oil whichpreferably exists in the cushioningimechanism to level approximately asindicated by the section line 33 in Figure 1, althou'gh the desiredoperation does not necessitate the maintenance of the toil glevel at theprecise height at the threaded portion '16, 18,2thejointissealed bymeans of red .lead or other means :suitablefor the purpose.

It has been found that if a closed partition be employed between theplunger cylinder and the operating cylinder, that passage of oil fromthe former to the latter will be entirely prevented, but the cushioningmeans does inotnperatersatisfactorily'and'ithe leather washer soon loses:itsfiexibility due probably to "the fact that the operating fluid, suchas to have :a'more or less free communication between the:plungercylinder and zp'iston cylinder to attain satisfactory operationof the cushioning means and to attain lubrication of the leather washer.

-On the other hand,- it has been found that without the use of adiaphragm or partition, the splashingof the oil becomes so great thatconsiderable portions of oil pass from the plunger cylinder :to the:piston :cylinder .and

I accumulate above the piston therein, causing poor operation ofthecushioning nueans and more or less loss :of oil through leakage. TI havedis'covered that bysthemse ofassoreen betwee-nthe plunger cylinderandthe operating cylinder, excessive splashing of the oil is prevented andthe main body of .the oil in the plunger cylinderfis'retained. A mostsatisfactory operation of the apparatusis fattained, however, by itheuse of a solid diaphragm' or :pa-rtiti'on ihavinga series of .perfo-'rations of certain dimensions therein by means of which cushioningaction is .not .interfered with and the lifeuof the leather. washer ismaintained, and little or no attention is required over long periods oftime.

Below the threaded portion 16 of the plunger casing l51is arecess20shaving atshoulder 2'1 adapted to support a partition :01; diaphragm22. Theidiaphragmunay be I-held-in place bymeans :of awasher 1orring'23,'which in turn is held in place'byrthe.edgeoftthe cylinder:casing.lOwhenthecasings 10 and 15 are screwed together. :In. thecentral -portion of thediaphragm 22 is an opening'27,in which Theseopenings ,a.r e comparatively small so as to prevent the passage of foilin aggregate therethrough, but to permit-the passage of oil spraytherethroiu-gh. A diaphragm Ehaving {twelve openings therein of about1/64th of an inch in diameterehas'been :found in actual practice :tooperate more satisfactorily 7, 7

than :diaphra-gmfs having larger or smaller sized openings or with alarger :or smaller number :of holesft'herein.

openings :25 (see Fig. 4), which are preferably diametrically oppositea'nd of such a size as to just permit the passage of pressure fluidconducting pipe 58 tjherethrough, by means w h p essure :fiuicl may be:ad-

V In addition to the V openings 24; in the diaphragm :are two largermitted to the apparatus above the diaphragm.

The pipes. 58 arepreferably positioned at diametrically opposite pointsin the casing15,

and pass upwardly through the space or concentric opening 56 between thecasing and the upper portion of the cylinder 38. The

pipes'are positioned atthese points in order to enable either one to beconnected with a compressed air pipe or other source of pressure fluidsupply, whereby the. device may be used for either rightxor left handelevator door operation. The ends of the pipes 58may be closed byair-tight plugs or set screws 59,

. shown in Fig. 2, so that the pipe which is not in use, or which is notcoupled to a fluid pressure pipe, willnot exhaust or release pressurefluid into the atmosphere, during operation of the device.

The inner portion of the diaphragm 22 around the central opening 27rests, "or is seated, upon the upperedge of the cylinder 38 as is shownin Fig. 1 ofthe drawings. The

central opening 27 is preferably screwthreaded to receive .acorrespondingly threaded flange of the stuffing box 25, which is held inplace thereby. The flange of the stuffing box isxalso internallyscrew-threaded to receive alpacking nut 29 by means of which suitablepacking in the stuffing box around the rod 26 is held in place. I

r The piston rod or. plunger rod 26 above referred to, passes throughacentral opening through the piston 12 and through corresponding openingsthrough the leather wash t er 13'and follower 1 7 and extends outside ofhelical spring 36. which serves to maintain the'piston init'slowermost'position when un- "acted upon by pressure fluid." Within theplunger cylinder 38 is a plunger 28 which is connected to the plungerrod or piston rod 26.

Below the piston 12' on the rod 26 is a stop Lpin61, which fits in acorresponding slot in the rod 26, by means of which the'downwardmovement of thepiston on the rod is limited. -Attached to the piston12'and; extendmgup- 'wardly'around the'rod 26'through an opening 34: inthe cylinder'head 3O is a piston sleeve The end ofithe' sleeve extendingthrough thejea-p 3O hasia screwthreaded portion to which a packing nut33 having a corresponding internally screwthreaded portion, isattached,which serves to hold a packing in place between the end of the pistonsleeve and the nut around the piston rod, and fastens the rod and thesleeve togetherso as to prevent relative movement thereof. The purposeof the sleeve construction attached to the piston is to permitwithdrawal ofthe'piston and the leather washer from the cylinder casingwith-' out dismounting the apparatus as a whole, or disconnecting theapparatus at the seams which have been calkedor sealed to preventleakage therethrough. In order to remove the piston and leather washerfrom the cylinder,-it is only necessary to disconnect the piston rodfrom the toggle lever or bracket to which it is attached, and then tounscrew the cylinder head and nut 33. The parts may then be withdrawnby, sliding the sleeve along the piston rod until the piston, theleather washer and follower have passed over the end of the rod. Whenthe parts are replaced in the cylinder, the stop orpin in the slot inthe.

piston rod serves to position the piston and parts attached thereto inthe cylinder, and the head is then screwed down against the tension ofthe spring 36 until the desired spring tension is attained for returningthe piston to its normal position after operation by pressure fluid. J

,The cushioningmeans 14, attached to the cylinder casing 15, ispreferably constructed with the plunger cylinder 38 placedconcentrically with respect to the cylinder 10. This cylinder ispreferably made integral with the casing 15, the lower portion of thecylinder extending downwardly and the upper portion extending upwardlyfrom the point of connection, in the manner shown in the drawing. Thelower portion of the cylinder 38 is closed by means of a head -40 towhich a lug 412 is attached, by means of which the device may besuitably attached to a bracket or other supporting means. Within thewalls of the cylindercasing 38 are passages 44 and 46 communicatingbetween the upper portion of the cylinder and a mid-portion, andthelower end of tile cylinder and the mid-portion respective y. y I

At the point of communication of the passages with the mid-portion ofthe cylinder the internal diameter thereof is somewhat enlarged as shownat 48-, so as to permitfree movement of the plunger in passing thisportion of the cylinder in either itsupward or downward movement.Regulating screws 50 and 52 serve to control the passage of liquidthrough the passages 44 and 46 respectively and the checking orcushioning action'may thereby, be regulated as desired by controllingthe movements oftlie plunger. 'In'the cylinder wall 38, preferably atthe portion at which the wall is connected with the outer casing 15, isa passage 54 which serves to connect the enlarged portion l8 of thecylinder with the annular space 56 between the casing 15 and the upperportion ofthe cylinder 38. This annular space serves as a reservoir forthe oil when the plunger 28. moves upwardly in the plunger cylinder sothatin actual operation cushioning of the piston 12 by meansof'theplunger does not take place until the plunger reaches the portionof the cylinder 38 abovethe passage 54 at the enlarged 'por.- tion 48.

In the operation of the device, pressure fluidis'admitted through apipe-58 and passes upWardlyin-to the upper chamber 56 in the cylindercasing 10 above the diaphragm or. partition 22. By thus admittingpressure fluid'to theicylinderabove the partition 22, the turbulentaction of the pressure fluid is prevented from picking uplarge portionsof oil and carrying it into the cylinder 10, and during the exhaustthrough the pipe 58 'very little or substantially no oil is carried awayin the'exhaust.

In place "of the partition 22 having a series of holes or perforations,I may employ apartition'sim ilarly constructed, but having an orifice62' which will permit downwardpassage or return of oil therethrough incase a substantial amount of oil should pass upwardly through theperforations. By means of this orifice, oil may flow rapidly back intothe annular chamber 56, and thereby join the main body of oil, thuspreventing any de- J crease inthe volume of oil necessary for cushioningthe upward stroke of the piston. A bracket or splash plate 64 issuitably positioned below the orifice 62 so as to prevent oil fromsplashing upwardly through the orifice. The latterconstruction is shownmore particularly in Figs. 6 and 7. I prefer, however, the form ofpartition-shown in Figs. 4 and 5 for theireason of its greatersimplicity inconstruction and the fact thatit is cheaperto'imanufacture.

It is to be understood that certain of the features shown in-thedrawings are not absolutely essential and that Various changesvormodifications maybe made in the device as disclosed without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the claims Inplace of the preferred form of partition 22, a perforated screen or someother form of partition having perforations differing in form orposition in the partition from that above described, I might beemployed. It is apparent, furthermore, that the means by which thepiston is operatively connected to the toggle levers or'other device 'tobe operated may bemodified, for example, by connecting the sleeve 31 tothe toggle levers directly g and then fastening the rod 26 to the sleeveby means of the pin passing through a slot through the parts or by otherequivalent means.

It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention which has beendescribed constitutes only the preferred form of the invention and-thatvarious changes may be made'in 'the deviceby those skilled in the artwithin the scope of the following claims.

' Having thusdescribed thei'nvention, what isclaimed as new is? I 1. Inan elevator door operating mechanism, a cylinder, a piston in saidcylinder,a

a spray mates? connection bet ween said piston and the door to beoperated, a' plunger attached to said connection so as to move with saiddoor, an oil chamber surround ng said plunger, and

means for preventing passage of oil in the fluid acting to entrain aportion of the liquid in said cushioning chamber'in the form of a spraycapable'of permeating said diaphragm.

3. In a device of the class described, acylinder, a piston in thecylinder, meansfor supplying pressure fluid to the cylinder to operatethe piston, a liquid cushioning chamber connected to-said cylinder, anda foraminated diaphragm between said chamber and said cylinder, saidpressure fluid acting to entrain a portion of the liquid in saidcushioning chamber in the form of a spray capable of permeating saiddiaphragm.

4. In a device of the class described, a cylinder; a piston in thecylinder; means for connecting one of saidparts to a mechanism to beoperated; cushioning means operatively connected to the cylindercomprising a cup, a plunger therein, and a liquid in said cup; and adiaphragm permeable to spray between said cushioningimeans and saidcylinder to prevent passage of liquid in aggregate. s

5. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston therein, acushioning chamber having liquid Ytherein, and'apartition between saidchamber and said cylinder having perforations therein of dimensions topermit passage of spray therethrough and 'to prevent the passage ofliquid in aggregate therethrough'. i V e v 6. Ina device of the classdescribed, a separatory diaphragm-permeable to spray but preventingupward passage of liquidin ag grog ate therethrough, comprising'acircular platehavinga central opening therein for the passage of apiston rod therethrough, and p a second opening for a pressurefluid'conduit therein, the pressure fluid passing through saidconduitactingto entrain aportion' ofthe liquid below said diaphragm in the formof capable of permeating said diaphragm.

7. "In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston in thecylinder, means for admitting pressurefluid .to said cylinder to"operate said piston, cushioning means coinpris ing a plunger operatingin a liquid-contaming chamber in which cush1oningact1on may becontrolled, and a diaphragm per- 10 to said cylinder to operate saidpiston, cushmeable to spray between said chamber and said cylinder toprevent passage of liquid in aggregate, said pressure of fluid acting toentrain a portion of theliquid in said cushioning chamber in the form ofa spray capable of permeating said diaphragm.

8. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston and leathercup washer in said cylinder, means for admitting pressure fluid ioningmeans comprising an oil-containing chamber below said cylinder when inoperative pos1t1on,the said cushioning means causing splashing of oiltoward said cylinder, and means to cut off communication between saidchamber and cylinder'for liquidin ag-' gregate without interfering withthe said cushioning action and without interfering with the entrainmentof oil by said pressure of fluid to preserve and lubricate saidleatherwasher.

9. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston in thecylinder, a piston rod attached to said piston, means for admittingpressure fluid belowvsaid piston to cause movement thereof, aliquidcontaining chamher connected to said cylinder, a plunger 7 thereinoperatively connected to said piston,

means for permitting passage of liquid from said liquid-contamingchamber to a space between said chamber and said cylinder, and

' plunger cylinder having a liquid therein, a

- plunger adapted to operate therein, restricted passageways to controlthe movements of v the plunger, a reservoir, a passageway communicatingbetween the plunger cylinder and said reservoir, and means in the pathfrom said reservoir to said cylinder to prevent passage of liquid inaggregate, and a conduit for supplying pressure fluid above thelast-named means, sa1d pressure fluid acting to entrain a portion of theliquid in said reservoir in the form of a spray capable of permeatingsaid last named means. i

I 11. In a device of the class described a cylinder, a piston in saidcylinder, a sleeve at- 7 f tached to said piston, a piston rod connected'to said sleeve and adapted to move with said piston, means forconnecting said piston rod to a mechanism to be'operated, means forremoving said piston and sleeve from said cylinder without removing saidpiston rod, an

oil chamber connected with said cylinder, 2.

plungerwithin said oil. chamber connected to said rod and meanspermeable to the passage .vator door operation.

15. In a device ofthe class described a cylof oil spray to said cylinderfrom said oil chamber to lubricate the walls thereof and preventing thepassage of liquid in aggregate thereto. r

12. In a device of the class described a cylwasher attached to saidpiston, a sleeve removably attached to said piston, a piston rod withinsaid sleeve extending through said piston, means for operativelyconnecting said ton rod, means for detachably connecting said plunger tosaid piston, means for disconnecting said rod from said mechanism to beoperand washer together with said sleeve from said cylinderrwithoutremoving said plunger and piston rod therefrom.

18. In a device of the class described, a cylinder, a piston in, 'saidcylinder, means for operatively connectingsaid piston to a mechanism tobe operated, means for admitting pressure fluid to said cylinder tooperate said piston, cushioning 'means within said cylinder adapted tobe operatively connected to said piston for cushioning the movements ofsaid mechanism, and means permittin the removal .of said piston fromsaid cylinder from one end thereof Without removing said cushioningmeans therefrom.

14. In a device of the class described the combination of a cylinder,apiston in the cylinder, means for connecting one of said parts to amechanism to be operated, cushioning A? means connected to said cylindercomprising a liquid containing cylinder having a plunger thereinoperatively connected to said piston, fa foraminous diaphragm to preventpassage of liquid in aggregate from the plunger cylinder to the pistoncylinder and alternative means for admitting pressure fluid above saiddiaphragm whereby said cylinder may be connected for either right orleft hand eleinder, a removable cap thereon, a piston in the cylinder, aleathercup washer attached to said piston, a cup expander to expand saidwasher into contact with the walls of said cylinder, a detachable sleeveconnected to said piston and extending through said cap, means forattaching sa1d piston to a mechanism to be operated, a cushioning meansconnected to said cylinder comprising an oil containing cylinder havinga plunger therein,

a rod attached to said plunger, means for operatively connecting sa1drod to sa1d PIS- ton to cushion the movements thereof, means forregulating the movements of said plunger during pre-determined portionsof .the forward and return stroke thereof, and a foraminous diaphragmbelow said piston to prevent passage of liquid in aggregate from theplunger cylinder to the piston cylinder,

inder, a piston in said cylinder, a leather 370 ,75 red to a mechanismto be actuated, a plunger operating in a liquid connected to said pis-:3 ated, and means for withdrawing said piston but permitting: passageof oil. spray" thereto.

161-111. a device of: thet'class described, a

cylinder;a removable capthereon, azpist'o'nin the cylinder, a leathercup Washer attached to said piston, a cup expander 'toi expandl'said'Wash'e'r into contact. With the Walls of said cylinder;adetachablesleeve connected to said pistonand: extending through saidcap, anoi'l cylindenconnectedi to: the piston cylinder, a plungerinisaid o'iilicylin'der, a" rod", means 01 attaching said rod to said:plunger, means outside of the first named cylinder for detachablyconnecting said rod to. said; sleeve, means for connecting said rods toa mechan-i'sm to be operated Whereby'saidipiston and Washer may beremoved from: therpistom cylzinder by disconnecting. said rod from themechanism to" be'operat-ed, .dise'onnefetingsaid rod from said sleeveand; removing-said cap from the cylinder; 7

17.: In-a deviceiof the class described, a cyli H'ClQI ffiplStOIl in thecylinder; meansforeonducting-pressurefluid to said cylinder, an oilcylinder connectedto the piston; cylinder, a plunge? inithe oilcylinder, a rod in: said cyli ndel means for attaching the; rodto1 saidplunger, means: for op'erative'ly connecting said: rod to said piston,and. means for attachingandldetac'hingsaid piston'to amechanism to beoperated thereby Without mounting and discounting said oil' cylinder,plungstand-nod" p I 18; Ina device: of the class described asylinde-r,apistonin said cylinder, a piston. rod 1 extending through and movablerelatively to saidjpi'stom: and means for preventing. such relative:movement: of said piston and plston rod comprising a sleeve attached atone end.

to saidpiston, and removable means for boldinig said sleeve and piston:rod in frictional r engagement whereby the movementwof said piston andsleeve causes correspondingmovev ine'nt of said-piston-r'odv 1Sig'ned'at; New Yorkeity N; Y., this 3rd day of August 1923. a I WILLIAMB. GROWELL.

